Chapter 84
DROP THE GLOVES
brIAR
After what might’ve been the best nap of my entire life, I’m awakened by the quick and familiar sound of Remi's feet racing down the hall. There’s a second of hesitation, giving me just enough time to fully ensure maximum blanket coverage, before she crashes through Koen’s door.
Koen rockets out of the bed, and I’m instantly grateful that, at some point, he slid on a pair of shorts.
However, Remi is staring at me with eyes wide open in surprise. “Mommy, are you sick?”
I run my hands down my face, once again checking the blanket and tucking it tighter under my arms. “No, baby, Mommy’s not sick.”
She tilts her head to the side, her clever little eyes studying me. “Then why are you in bed?”
“Mommy…Mommy was just so tired and cranky she needed to take a little nap.” I smile, careful not to make eye contact with Koen.
Remi’s eyes slide to him. “And Koen was helping you sleep?”
“Mhmm.” My tone goes up in inflection, and I’m hoping my face is not as red as it feels. “Listen, baby, why don’t you go pick out something to wear to the game tonight, and I’ll come help you in two quick minutes, okay?”
Remi’s eyes narrow for another long moment of silence before she shrugs, spinning on her heel so fast it almost knocks her over. “Okay!” she yells, disappearing back out into the hall.
“Ohmygod,” I breathe, looking over to find Koen hiding a laugh behind his hand, the one not hiding a gun behind his back.
Annoyed, I throw a pillow at him. He lets it hit him straight in the chest, arching one brow as if shocked at my audacity.
“You don’t lock the door?” I grumble, shoving out of the bed while attempting to keep the sheet over me, half tripping over it in the process.
“Why would I lock the door in my own house?”
“Umm, for reasons similar to what just fucking happened.”
He smirks, sliding the gun back into the drawer in his nightstand, before frowning and taking it back out again. “I guess I have some childproofing to do…”
I stare at the drawer in open horror. “Yeah, I say you do.” I quickly retrieve my clothes from the floor and pull them on. Shaking my head, I move to follow Remi back out the door, stopping at the sound of Koen’s throat clearing behind me.
“Er—that chest of drawers there is yours.”
I freeze, following the direction of his finger, to a dresser tucked up against the door to the bathroom.
Koen runs a hand back through his hair, and I can tell he’s uncomfortable. “It — uh—it’s got some clothes in there.” He stares at me. “For you,” he clarifies.
“Oh.” I stare at the drawers before cracking a smile. “Awfully presumptuous of you, wouldn’t you say?” I turn back with a grin, only to be hit square in the face with the same pillow I’d thrown at him earlier.
“Get dressed, Briar Rose. We’ve got a hockey game to get to.”
Remi spends nearly the entire car ride to the game telling me all about the Breakers’ arena, what the locker rooms look like, the bench, how to work the scoreboard, how good the burgers are at the Chill Zone… everything.
“Wow, it sounds like you really got the full tour!” I say, finally getting a word in after she’s forced to take a sip of water after almost thirty minutes of non-stop banter.
“Mommy, I have a question?”
I open my bottle of water and take a drink. “Yes, baby?”
“Is Koen driving us to the game because he’s my dad?”
I choke, falling forward in my seat to recover. Koen might as well have crashed the car for how my heart stops in my chest.
“What?” I croak out. “Where did you—why do you think that, Rem?”
I shoot a look at Koen, who shockingly looks just as rattled as me. What do I do? I mouth at him from behind my water bottle so Remi can’t see.
Koen just shrugs, tightening his grip on the steering wheel until his knuckles are white.
Remi tilts her head briefly in thought. “Well, he has the same eyes as me.” I raise my brows, genuinely impressed she put that together on her own, until she continues, “And Liam called him my dad… but then he freaked out! And he told me to keep it a secret. But when I told him I’m not allowed to keep secrets, he freaked out even more! ”
Koen exhales slowly, “Liam talks too much.”
I cover my mouth to hide the laughter bubbling out of me as I watch Koen’s eyes narrow.
“If Koen is my dad, does that make Liam my uncle?” Remi continues, completely oblivious to the gravity of the topic we are discussing.
“I—uh.” My eyes dart over to Koen, who’s staring straight ahead, his jaw locked tight.
“Like Uncle Dash and Uncle Sam?”
That breaks Koen out of his thoughts. He glances in his rearview mirror at Remi before giving me a sharp look. “Uncle Dash and Uncle Sam? I thought you were an only child?”
I’m torn between answering my daughter and answering Koen.
“Yes.” I wince, turning around to face Remi. “That makes Liam your uncle, and Aidan and Alex too. I look back at Koen. “Dash and Sam are Lily’s brothers,” I explain.
There’s an unreadable look, not unlike jealousy, on his face before he turns his attention back to the road. We pull into an underground parking garage meant for just the players and their families.
Remi claps, sitting back in her seat. “Yay! We’re going to watch my uncles play!”
“Yes, we are…” I blow out a breath, sitting back in my seat and trying to get my heartbeat to regulate, while Koen finds us a spot to park.
One thing about a hockey game… It’s loud.
So loud.
Once inside the massive arena, I half expect Koen to lead us up to a box, or somewhere private, but we head down. Down and down until we’re at the glass level, right in between Boston’s bench and goal.
We’re early enough to catch warm-ups. Music blasts from the overhead speakers, and when the players race out onto the ice, Remi shrieks with excitement.
More players spill out of the doors until both teams are moving in massive circles around each end of the rink before breaking apart.
Some come over to stretch near us while others practice their shots on the goalie.
Remi’s got a huge smile on her face, jumping up and down before she, too, starts banging on the glass at the players skating around like she sees others doing around us.
She’s bundled up in layers: long sleeves, with her new jacket underneath her brand new #26 Boston Breakers jersey, courtesy of #26 himself, Liam O’Rourke.
And honestly, she looks adorable in it. I even found some green ribbon to tie in her hair.
Koen bends down, picking her up and holding her so her toes rest on the top of the boards.
Both of her hands press up against the glass, and she squeals ecstatically.
I think my heart might burst at the sight of the two of them together.
Liam skates by, and Remi bangs harder, trying to get his attention.
Koen gives me a look, mumbling, “I’m gonna kill him,” under his breath at the same time Liam spots us. Grinning ear to ear, he peels out of the warm-up circle, coming straight for the glass, green eyes fixed on Remi. He holds up his glove and gives her a high five through the glass.
In true Liam fashion, he doesn’t notice Koen glowering at him as he bends down to pick up a puck off the ice. He taps it against the glass twice in warning before he reaches up and drops it over, right into Koen’s open palm.
Koen’s hand closes around the puck, and he hands it to Remi, who takes it from him like she’s just been given the holy grail.
You’re dead, I spy Koen mouth to Liam while Remi is distracted. Liam cocks his head, pointing his green glove to his ear while mouthing back a helpless I can’t hear you, but the shit-eating grin on his face suggests otherwise.
Koen’s jaw clenches, and I can’t help but laugh, earning myself a wink from Liam, and a scowl from Koen at my side.
Liam gives Remi one more fist bump through the glass before he turns his attention back to the ice, warm-ups nearly over.
Not half a minute later, Rory takes his place, waving at Remi with her green pompoms. Remi holds up the puck Liam just gave her, showing it off, and Rory’s mouth drops open in exaggerated shock and awe.
Rory makes eye contact with me before she, too, tosses something over the glass.
I catch her shimmery, green and silver pair of pompoms, which elicits another squeal of excitement out of Remi, who snatches them right up, holding them high and shaking them like the rest of the Belles are doing out on the ice.
“Thank you!” I shout to Rory, hoping she can hear me through the glass.
“Anytime!” she yells back. I can hear her perfectly fine. “Have fun at your first game, guys!”
I’ve seen hockey on TV before, but to experience it in person, and right at ice level, it’s a completely different experience entirely.
They are so fast! And when they hit each other, they hit hard, pushing the glass outward with force each time. We’re not five minutes into the first period before we spot Aidan, right before he slams one of the Chicago Bolts players into the glass right in front of us.
I scream, jumping back, and Koen laughs. I spy Aidan shooting Remi a little wink before skating off.
“Do you think there will be a fight?” Remi asks Koen. The look in her eyes tells me she’s hoping he says yes.
Koen smiles, tilting his head while looking over the players on the ice. “Well, Aidan’s on the ice tonight so statistically… probably, yeah.”
Remi claps excitedly, jumping up a few times before resuming her spot against the glass, shouting for Aidan to “drop the gloves.”
“She craves violence,” Koen chuckles, sitting back in his seat, which puts him right next to me.
“She gets that from you.” The words are out before I can think them through, and my eyes widen when I realize what I’ve said, but Koen just grins back at me.
“That she did. That she did.”
My heart warms in my chest, and I smile before changing the subject, not wanting tonight to get too heavy.
“So why do they keep blowing the whistle every time they’re about to score?
” I ask with genuine curiosity. It’s happened at least three times, where one of the Breakers is dominating the ice, moving in on the Bolts’ goal, and just as he’s about to let it rip, the ref blows the whistle, halting the play.
“Oh, ‘cause they’re offside,” Koen tells me before noticing Liam skating by. “‘Cause it’s amateur hour out there!” he shouts, cupping his hands around his mouth.
Liam rolls his eyes before lining up for the puck drop right in front of us.
“Make him go boom, Uncle Liam!” Remi shrieks through the glass. I don’t think he hears her until the play starts, and Liam tears at the forward on the other team who gets the puck, going in for a massive open ice hit.
I wince at the brutality of it, while Koen and Remi clap and bang on the glass.
I do my best to follow the game, but it’s pointless, so instead I watch Koen and Remi bond.
After the game, Remi’s climbing into the backseat of the SUV. Koen’s standing by her door, holding the hockey stick Aidan slipped her after the game. Once she’s settled in her seat, she looks up at him, locking him into one of her intense Remi stares.
“Dad?” She tries it out, and I hold my breath, my eyes flying to Koen, who’s giving her his full, undivided attention, but I see him swallow nervously before he answers.
“Yeah?”
“Can you teach me to play hockey like that? Uncle Liam said you taught him and Uncle Aidan, and I want to be just like them someday!”
“Yeah, Remi.” He swallows again, and his eyes look shiny in the light. “I would love that,” he says softly, his eyes finding mine. “I would really love that.”